


Shooting Is How We Bond

by ainamclane



Series: Little Black Dress RT Challenge [3]
Category: Justified, The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, M/M, Sentinel/Guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:18:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4571253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainamclane/pseuds/ainamclane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raylan comes online in Nicaragua. A year later he meets the man again and shoots him (on sight). Transferring back to Harlan and shooting Boyd? Not a good idea when Boyd comes online as Raylan's Guide.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shooting Is How We Bond

**Author's Note:**

> Part 3 of the "official" Little Black Dress RT Challenge; word count 10k-15k
> 
> Had that idea stuck in my mind a long time;
> 
> based on Season 1 and ep 1 of S02

Raylan came to a shrieking noise, loud and more than he could bear. Next he felt the moisture on his skin, the bounds digging into his skin, someone else breathing onto his leg through his pants.

The space he was in was small, smelled of old, stale air and another male person. Of cocaine and mud and dynamite. 

He could barely see anything. It was dark but the small reflection of the taillight through the plastic was enough for Raylan to make out that he was indeed in a trunk, locked and with someone else.

His head hurt. Pain from the sensations. The noise from the wheels on the uneven ground, being shaken left and right, up and down…hearing the other traffic noise, the trees and forest around him, smelling of pine.

Tuning into the sound of voices, he could make out the driver talking and realized that yes, he could hear Tommy Bucks talking about finding Roland Pike and not shying away from killing anyone who could get to him.

Seriously pissed at himself, Raylan cursed and briefly wondered yet again how that asshole hat gotten a drop on him. Well, guess being two on one was enough.

Raylan also knew what had happened next. Hearing and smelling all the things he did now was not normal. Being a latent Sentinel, he knew what it meant coming online. Thank god the Marshal Service had trained each and every latent Sentinel on how to deal with coming online in the field. They tried telling exactly what it meant to go feral and how serious it actually was.

Trying to set his dials, Raylan concentrated on what he could control versus what he couldn’t. He needed to be able to work his way out of here after all.

The drive took longer than it took Raylan to set his dials. Thankfully the training had been with a Guide and said Guide had managed to help each latent Sentinel to archive a shield. A powerful Guide could do that even in latent persons. Never being happier about forced hours than right now.

Being hauled out of the trunk and smacked in the face was seriously no fun but Raylan dialed down touch now that he could. They couldn’t really harm him now though he knew dialing down pain and touch so low could be dangerous. 

The other guy, just waking now, was bound to a palm tree. He yelled and screamed before he was gagged with a stick of dynamite. Raylan averted his eyes but was forced to answer everything he knew. He would try to save the poor guy. 

It didn’t help. The smell of burning flesh was so bad that Raylan had to gag. The blood and pieces of skin settling onto his torn cloths. It was bad. Really bad and not easy to deal with.

Bucks laughed and started driving away, leaving Raylan alone in a strange country; bound and near a zone out.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there but the cleansing rain that came down then was enough to get rid of the worst smell, enough to cool the bruises and make him feel again. He dared dialing up is senses and looked around for anything to untie him. Being left alone in a thick tree ridden area was enough to suck royally but being cuffed behind the back? Hell, no.

Not to mention that bastard had made him lose his hat.

Swearing to kill the man, Raylan worked his hands free; thankful for plastic zip ties and high Sentinel adrenaline to burst them.

The road back to civilization would take him about seven hours. Expanding his senses, Raylan tried to find a faster route and heard a river not too far away. He needed water anyways so he could just as well make a raft and hope to end in a city or somewhere at the ocean where population was better.

All the while a need took place in his bones to get rid of Tommy Banks. The Sentinel in him needed the man gone, knowing the man would harm his Guide once he found them. He couldn’t allow letting the other man live. What Tommy hadn’t known, killing a Guide in front of a Sentinel was never a good idea. While Raylan had kept calm enough not to get killed as well, his mind screamed at him to find the man and get revenge.

*

Working for the Marshals was tiring sometimes. Raylan knew his boss was looking at him strangely but that scent was just connected to the burning. Dan could want him to stay in place as much as he wanted but Raylan’s sense of justice was definitely something else ever since he came back from Nicaragua about a year ago.

Grand didn’t know what was up with Raylan but Raylan didn’t tell him anything. He had been to the Centers and gotten registered and tested. He was stable, didn’t need a substitute Guide and had been cleared for doing whatever he needed to take Banks down. The Sentinel and Guide Center would provide lawyers later on because this was the nature of a Sentinel. Most of the time they didn’t even go to court though.

“Dan, this is out of my control,” Raylan said before taking off into one direction, smelling the threat.

Grand was right behind him, frowning and Raylan spoke to Banks through a few lines of pedestrians that couldn’t ever get into the cross line: “Banks! You don't get out of town in 24 hours, I'm gonna shoot you on sight!”

Banks laughed: “Yeah, good luck finding me.”

Grand had reached Raylan then and turned him around to face him: “Givens!”

“He killed a Guide in front of me,” Raylan explained calmly: “I come online when they took me. I will do everything to kill him.”

Apparently there was something in Raylan’s voice that made Dan worried because he nodded: “Fair warning, I’ll have to reassign you if you do.”

Raylan barely nodded and checked the time.

*

Checking the time, Raylan entered the building’s pool and dining area. He had spotted Banks three miles away and really, that man wasn’t even trying to get out of Miami.

Their facedown was actually over in less than a minute. Raylan’s hand to eye coordination had gotten better since coming online but even in his latent state this would have been an easy shot.

His Spirit Animal looked at him, head tilted and nodded at him, then bumping his head against his leg and others around him gasped when they saw the wolf appear. 

“Raylan-“ Grand started to talk but Raylan shook his head, the wolf still visible but fading quickly after they lost contact.

The helicopter overhead made Raylan flinch loudly and he covered his ears underneath his hat quickly to reduce the noise before he could actually dial it down.

Grand looked at him more puzzled and shook his head: “I’m gonna reassign you.”

“Prison transport?” Raylan asked carefully.

“No, I'm getting you out of Dodge. They need manpower in the Eastern District of Kentucky. I talked to the chief of the district, Art Mullen, says you guys taught Firearms together at Glynco.” 

Raylan winced: “I grew up in Kentucky. I don’t wanna go back there.”

Grand looked at him and shrugged. Raylan sighed, adjusted his hat and went for the Sentinel and Guide Center. They held a Guide-Sentinel Search there and maybe, just maybe Raylan could find his Guide there before going to Kentucky.

*

His luck ran out not too long after that. Meeting Art again was good, the man felt comfortable to Raylan and he was glad the changes weren’t that drastic. Raylan also wondered if the man knew about his online status.

“Good to see you again, Raylan,” Art shook his hand: “A bit of a come down from the Miami office, I’d expect.”

“Not with you here,” Raylan replied and Art was always easy to be around and be friends with. Of course, here he was his boss, which complicated things just a tiny bit.

Art started in on the introducing him to the office small talk but Raylan zoned a little bit until Art mentioned Winona. Damn, his ex wife was here? The Guide that he had rejected because they weren’t compatible and she had taken it badly? 

“Art, I think I need to tell you something,” Raylan interrupted Art sometime after the whole intro and going to a bar to talk. Raylan stuck to one bourbon; luckily enough that he didn’t have troubles with hard liquor after coming online.

“About Winona?”

“It’s a part of it,” Raylan explained: “I came online as a Sentinel in Nicaragua where Banks took me hostage and killed a Guide in front of me.”

“No shit.” Art looked pissed: “And they transferred you for killing that son of a bitch?”

Raylan shrugged in agreement: “Winona came online when I was missing. She is a Guide but I rejecter her because she wasn’t a good fit for me. Besides she reeked of another man and she took it badly. We’re about to speak again now, though.”

Art sighed: “At least we have no records of Guides and Sentinels being down in Harlan where your first assignment will be.”

Raylan snorted: “No one there trusts the official centers. Not even the Sentinel and Guide Centers. Bo Crowder is an Alpha and assesses everyone necessary.”

“Bo Crowder is in Sandy’s,” Art explained: “Know who the Beta would be?”

Raylan flinched a bit: “Could be my aunt, could be Bennett’s…I don’t quite know who came online after I left.” 

They stayed silent for a while: “Boyd Crowder is our person of interest here. He is supposed to have launched a Bazooka into a church,” Art explained: “You know him?”

“We dug coal together,” Raylan answered while taking the folder Art was giving him. Raylan’s nose wrinkled briefly because some asshole had thought it funny to actually jerk off over the file and Raylan very hard tried to avoid touching the leftover stains. Thankfully the bourbon stains weren’t that attention-drawing.

Art then patted his shoulder: “I’ll be off then, wife waits with dinner.”

Raylan watched the other man go and turned back to he folder before leaving for his hotel room.

Changing territory was already sucking big time and Raylan found himself restless and agitated by the smells that he usually would just ignore but there was no buffering. Second to that, there wasn’t a single motel in the area that had white noise generators or was Sentinel friendly. It was as if whole Kentucky didn’t want to have Sentinels or Guides visiting.

It made sleeping nearly impossible for Raylan. The train passing by was intolerable, his sense spiking every time he slept and drew him out of bed in fear from an attack. It was no easy sleep.

The next morning, he was introduced to Gutterson and Brooks, both thankfully not smelling of perfume and whatnots. Raylan suspected Art had called them the night before to let them in on Raylan’s secret.

Raylan’s attention was brought to the forefront when Rachel talking to the witness kinda went sour and his hearing automatically adjusted to hear what was going on. Interrupting had been the only real thing he could do to de-escalate the whole issue.

Next on Raylan’s list was the whole mess with Bowman Crowder and his wife Ava. Raylan already cursed the day he came online because all those events lead to this. 

Ava kissed him and he had to wince at the sharp smell of her, the taste of her lip balm and the alcohol on her breath. The gunpowder still heavy in the whole house, the stench of blood, too.

He recovered quickly and allowed Ava to shower and redress. It would do his senses good and maybe was enough to get her to cool down because her smell of arousal was not good. 

The jerk that came by and had the guts to call him out? Raylan knew he was one of Boyd’s goons and would visit Boyd soon enough. The Nazi-bullshit Raylan saw was just really annoying.

Raylan never did divide between races. Sentinels weren’t capable of making the distinction by smell or otherwise in their genetic need to protect. Yes they could assume ethnically where a person came from due to the smells of food and clothing but otherwise, no. So seeing those black Swastika on the pale skin was making Raylan’s hair prickle at the back of his neck.

*

Meeting Boyd, Raylan knew in an instant that Boyd was trouble. He was his fucking Guide. Latent, but still his fucking Guide.

Which made Raylan Alpha material. Granted, most at the Center in Miami had told him wolf spirit animals were Alphas but he hadn’t quite believed them.

Now, Boyd being the son of an Alpha, it made sense.

It complicated things. Raylan could feel Boyd’s fascination with him, his easy acceptance of his presence and unknowingly actually trusting him. Rayland could tell the way Boyd’s laugh was real, the tattoo fake, his concern for his men, real.

If Boyd were to ever harm anyone, Raylan would be in a shitty place. A Guide, an Alpha, behind bars without a Sentinel? It could be bad, really bad.

A Sentinel with a criminal as Guide? Well, they weren’t called Guide without a reason. It could be very well true that he would end up being on the other side of the law with Boyd.

If they chose to be bonded.

Walking out of the church, Raylan let his thoughts fly because all this depended on Boyd coming online in the first place. So far, he hadn’t and there was a small chance that he would come online.

*

Turning Ava down, again, was easy after seeing Boyd. Sentinels protected and she needed to be protected. Raylan was honestly surprised that she was neither a Guide nor a Sentinel, given that Bowman was also the son of an Alpha. Maybe it was triggered by something, maybe the mine had something to do with so few Sentinel and Guides actually coming online.

Art was looking at him strangely after meeting Boyd and Raylan tipped his head down, adjusting his hat to look back up at Art: “He’s a Guide, Art.”

“Boyd Crowder? How the fuck-“

“He’s latent but still a Guide,” Raylan interrupted him: “Its unheard of a Guide to be on the wrong side of the law.” Raylan sighed.

“Well, nothing we can do about it now. Boyd is a criminal and needs to be put behind bars. Maybe he’s lucky enough to find his Sentinel there.”

“I’m his Sentinel,” Raylan mumbled into his huge glass of bourbon.

Art’s eyes grew big and he nearly choked on his sip of bourbon: “What?”

“Yeah, caught me by surprise, too.” Raylan sighed.

Art shook his head and leant closer: “Does that mean he can never come online or I’ll lose you?”

Raylan’s head snapped around then because he had unconsciously picked up on Boyd’s heartbeat close by: “He’s in the building.”

“You already attuned to him?” Art asked neutrally but both knew it wasn’t that easy.

“He’s been my friend and yes, I did attune to him. Maybe even because I unconsciously recognize him as my Guide. But Art, I won’t ever become someone on the other side of the law. I can’t.” Raylan promised. 

“Go to that lineup and book him.”

Raylan took a deep breath and followed Art’s orders, heading downstairs. Sadly, their witness was no Sentinel and couldn’t recognize Boyd. Letting the other man walk was hard in a way and twisting his insides.

With a spring in his step, Raylan followed Boyd down and didn’t know what to make of the threat Boyd spoke out: “Hey! You know that man you shot in Florida? Well, my boy Dewey's cousin down there, he said he heard a rumor that you gave that gun thug 24 hours to get out of town or you'd shoot him on sight. Is that true?”

Staring at Boyd, Raylan replied: “I gave him the option to leave Miami, he turned it down.”

“What would you say if I made you the same offer, that you get out of Harlan County by tomorrow noon or I'm gonna come looking for you? Does that sound fair?”

“Now you're talking,” Raylan replied easily but a heavy stone sat down in his stomach and twisted to an uneasy knot. This would turn out to become a disaster fairly quick.

*

When Ava called him and told him in a scared voice the chicken was waiting, Raylan could hear the telltale heartbeat of Boyd and Ava’s faster beat across the line. He grimaced and the whole team made to set out.

Hearing those thugs following him was easy as pie, same as walking to them and getting a ride. He wouldn’t let them shoot him in the back.

Smelling the food came a second before Raylan made out Ava’s smell, again too much perfume and just too much, next to her Boyd’s smell, of home, of gunpowder, of something that called to Raylan. Damn, he needed to focus.

“Ava?”

“I swear to God, Raylan, I didn’t know he was coming,” she nearly sobbed, visibly tense and heartbeat racing.

“I believe you,” Raylan replied because he did.

Sitting down across from Boyd in such a setting would have been nice under different circumstances. As it were, Raylan could smell Boyd’s gun on his lap. Raylan knew this was exactly what Boyd thought had happened and damn it to hell, Raylan really didn’t want to shoot Boyd. Much less kill him.

Talking tensely but concentrated on Ava’s position in the doorway behind his back was frustrating. Boyd being an ass, more so. 

“It was holstered.”

“Bullshit,” Boyd accused him of lying. Well, he would realize soon enough how fast Raylan could pull these days and hit his mark.

“It was holstered.”

“And where was his?”

“Under the table,” Raylan replied dutifully.

He focused on Boyd’s heartbeat next, hoping it would tell him the exact moment Boyd was about to pull.

Ava cocking the shotgun was unexpected and escalated everything. Boyd’s pointed gun at Ava was clearly against his instincts because he liked her and considered her pack. Drawing and shooting Boyd was hard on him but he heard the blood rushing out, thankfully his heart was steady and not hurt as far as he could tell.

“Boyd?” Raylan knelt down next to the injured man and sighed sadly: “I’m sorry.”

“Why’d you say you’re sorry?” Ava asked surprised.

“Boyd and I dug coal together,” Raylan pressed his hands on Boyd’s wound, realizing also that Boyd had just came online.

“Raylan, you’re my-“ Boyd’s eyes went unfocused.

“Shhh, Boyd, I know. I’m sorry.” Raylan interrupted Boyd quickly.

“I’m sorry,” Boyd replied and Raylan was really glad he didn’t say “My Sentinel” because that would be a partial bond.

Art busted through the doors then, followed by Tim and Rachel who were soon followed by the EMT.

“Raylan?” Art asked as soon as Boyd was rushed away but Raylan was listening with one ear to Boyd’s heartbeat. It got harder when he was too far away, the wailing siren covering the sound but Raylan followed the ambulance then before focusing on Art.

“I shot him, Art. He was pulling on Ava or me and,…I would die before I ever thought I hurt him but he didn’t leave me with a choice. He’s online now,” rubbing a hand over his tired face was enough to make Art realize just how much it had cost Raylan to shoot his old friend.

*

The weeks dragged on and Raylan visited Boyd in prison hospital, wincing when he saw the scar slowly healing. It looked like it hurt a lot.

“God Raylan, why didn’t you tell me you’re an online Sentinel?” Boyd asked and looked up at him.

“You didn’t know and I thought well, if you never came online,…” Raylan shrugged: “I tried to kill you. It’s how I was trained.”

“I was wondering if the fact that we’re friends, if that played any part…” Boyd took a breath and continued: “Then last night I woke up and knew why you didn’t kill me. My shields were not completely in tact when you just shot me and it came to me that you are my Sentinel. I forgot that I nearly called you my Sentinel lying there on the floor.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Raylan commented and knew Boyd took it how Raylan meant it.

The injured man nodded: “A partial bond and me being locked away would have been anguish.”

“Are we going to talk about where this might lead us if you’re coming out?” Raylan asked unsure but he needed to know if accepting a bond with a less suitable Guide was an option.

“I never wanted this life, Raylan. If I could become your snitch, yeah. If I had to work somewhere honest to have a bond with my Sentinel? We’d figure it out. I bet you know who I truly am. Not that guy playing racist, not the guy blowing up shit for fun.”

Raylan smirked: “I knew that tattoo was bullshit. It looked like well placed sharpie or airbrush. I know that a Sentinel-Guide bond is a perfect match to your own beliefs. I guess I always walked the line between staying in the law and ignoring it.”

Boyd grinned widely at him before pain visibly crossed his features and Raylan indicated his painkiller button to press: “I’ll be visiting you again.”

“Pleasure or business?”

“Both, I do know you after all,” Raylan replied and reached out to press the button with Boyd together, then stayed a moment until his Guide was falling asleep.

*

The sad part was, even with Ava’s statement, it wasn’t enough to keep Boyd behind bars. At least that was the view of Art. Raylan was slightly happy that the ADA Vasquez didn’t manage to produce other witnesses and that Ava had luckily kissed him on the lips as a thank you that had ended up on a photo and evidence. 

Art frowned at him but didn’t comment on it. He knew the tricky situation Boyd and Raylan were in. Boyd had also been registered in prison as a latent Guide and that rubbed Raylan the wrong way. Art had used his connections to get reports on any condition Boyd was in.

Thankfully there were only a few Sentinels in prison and most of them were bonded or had a severed bond and due to the damage it had taken them were unable to bond again. That and Boyd being the son of the Alpha Bo Crowder. Bo was the unofficial Alpha of Kentucky only because he had been bonded and no other Alpha Pair had stepped forward. Not that Sentinels and especially Alphas were too common in their area. It appeared that the Crowder’s family tree were one of the few Sentinel and Guide gene family. Guide and Sentinel searches for Boyd’s mother had been done in other states.

Going by his regular work, Raylan used his Sentinel gifts pretty often. He hadn’t told Rachel or Tim about them personally but was sure Art had mentioned them because both always rolled with him when he felt something. Sometimes it was his smell, hearing or sight catching something that he hadn’t consciously taken in yet. His senses were too untrained for that.

That or needing a Guide to explore this further.

*

Avoiding Helen had been second nature for Raylan since coming to Harlan. Seeing her would mean she could argue for him to see Arlo and yeah, that so wasn’t working out for them in any way. Raylan wanted to never see the man again. Since he had come online as a Sentinel, he refused to even think about the old man. 

A Sentinel abandoning his own family usually was a red flag for indicating something was messed up in said family. Arlo beating Francis and getting away with dealing drugs, beating the shit out of men and murder…

So when Helen called about Arlo being in prison and whether he could bail him out, Raylan of course refused. He went to see the man, had to in a way but he didn’t have to bail him out. No, not if it meant being Raylan’s responsibility or on his dime.

“Did you talk to him?” she asked and this was the first time Raylan realized she was a Guide. Online. Thank fucking god his Sentinel gene had been passed on by his mother’s family but he would never know why she lived with a mundane.

Granted, the numbers between a Guide and a Sentinel weren’t even but Francis should have had better options than Arlo. Better than Kentucky. So Raylan consciously wondered how Helen managed to end up with the same piece of shit man being a Guide herself.

The third big Sentinel and Guide genetic family were the Bennett’s. Thankfully Raylan had found his Guide and though it was bad with Boyd, it could have been way worse with a Bennett.

Small mercies.

*

Meeting Boyd at the prison gates when he was released was a thing they needed. Touching briefly, hearing each other talk and making a small mental connection.

Raylan guessed they would have jumped each other’s bones by now if it weren’t for the circumstances they were in and Bo waiting behind them in a car: “Boyd…”

“No, Raylan,” Boyd replied and made a small I’ll call you gesture that was very well hidden from sight behind Raylan’s hat. Raylan barely nodded and stepped aside, letting Boyd go to his father.

Bo was rubbing Raylan the wrong way. He was a Sentinel, too and shouldn’t cause any reaction but Raylan’s instincts were on edge. He had heard of Sentinels not liking others when their territory was in danger or someone challenged them for your Guide. This though, this was probably resulting in the opposite side of the law, a great dislike for each other and their last name as well as both being Alphas.

Raylan felt like he was in a Shakespeare play.

Two families that hated each other and the kids destined to be together by genetics. Raylan just wasn’t too sure whether Boyd or he himself resembled Juliet.

*

When things came to a fight between Helen and Arlo and the law, Raylan made his way back down, seeing his old home for the first time in years but all his instincts screamed at him to leave, to get the fuck away from here. This wasn’t good at all and Raylan had learned to listen to his instincts a long time ago.

So he talked to them, knowing when one if them lied by the telltale heartbeat. He thought it was ridiculous that they even tried lying to him because he was certain that Helen knew he was a Sentinel now, online and pretty strong.

Arlo smelled of Bo Crowder. Fuck, how Rayland didn’t want to deal with them going into business with each other again. It would result in disaster. They would go down with guns blazing.

“We need Arlo to spy on Bo,” Art said sincere and Raylan laughed: “Sorry, Art, but I don’t see him doing anything for our benefit. We can try but trust me, he’s never loyal to the law.”

“He just needs to be loyal to you,” Art replied and Raylan snorted even more: “That would be the same asking Boyd for help. At least here we would know it would result in something.”

“Boyd is on his own crusade to destroy the meth business. He’s careful in not crossing the law right now Raylan. Bo knows Boyd is up to something and won’t listen to him.”

“Boyd is making things right before we might walk across each other again.” Raylan said and sighed: “You do know that even though we managed to keep from bonding so far, we will eventually?”

“Yes Raylan, I know. I am surprised you remained apart for this long. The strain on the partial bond you must have, I can’t imagine what that must be like.” Art took two glasses and filled the m up with the good stuff, passing Raylan a glass: “Once you bonded, we’ll have to put both of you through the tests.”

“I know,” Raylan said after a sip from his drink: “Law enforcement tests are pretty bad though. At least for the integrity test of the bond and the morally high standards. I am worried Boyd and I won’t make it.”

“Bullshit, Raylan. You’re always walking the line as it is but your moral compass is always been good. I don’t doubt that Boyd though in the past had a few weird opinions always stayed true to a certain line. It won’t make everything he did all right but it will change him.”

“For the better,” Raylan nodded: “I just hope that I’m strong enough to drag him out of that shit.”

“Everyone knows that after bonding you are essentially new persons though no one actually wants to acknowledge it,” Art simply replied.

“Its not like we do a one-eighty on personality though, Art. We always were compatible personally wise that will not change and neither things we cannot absolutely with good conscience ever condone will we suddenly call okay.”

Art nodded: “Good, then I hope you don’t turn into a killer.”

“I’m a Sentinel, Art. I’ve always been a killer when its necessary.”

*

Like Raylan said, sending Arlo in to rat on Bo was a complete disaster. Thankfully neither he nor Helen had ever mentioned in front of Arlo that Raylan was a Sentinel and he didn’t think Bo ever would tell Arlo he was an Alpha or a Sentinel either. So listening in to Bo and Arlo talk, Raylan could hear the scratching of paper easily and mentioned so to Art: “They’re planning something else, too. Bo got tipped off.”

“You’re sure?”

“I don’t see another reason to write something on a napkin when this is their conversation,” Raylan replied dryly. 

“Okay okay, I trust your freaky senses,” Art agreed: “So we don’t give him the money.”

“Fuck no.”

*

The whole circumstances about Boyd’s men being killed by Bo was lost on Raylan but definitely not the moment Boyd walked in on him. 

It was a weird situation with Arlo showing up at his motel room and Raylan was already suspicious about that. The pointless talk about things and Arlo’s behavior was nervousness and a faster heartbeat than normal.

“You ever gonna get married again?” Arlo asked and Raylan frowned harder.

“What brought that on?”

“I’m just making small talk.” Arlo replied and Raylan added a suspicious “what for” to his thoughts. Somehow Arlo was up to something.

“I don’t know,” Raylan replied but actually thought that if he got bonded to Boyd, the law had to change first before he could marry his Guide. They were stuck for life anyways and the laws registered Sentinel and Guide bonds equal to marriage if the paperwork was added. In those rare cases where the Sentinel or Guide had outside marriages it wasn’t possible anyways. Thank God he had divorced Winona.

“Ava Crowder?”

“What about her?” Raylan asked, barely noticing that he had been absentmindedly.

“Don’t tell me she didn’t chase you,” Arlo replied and nervously checked his watch. The TV was playing in the background, adding noise but Raylan guessed for a human it would have been enough to turn the outside world out.

“I’m not interested.” Raylan said truthfully. The thought of her perfume alone made him shudder, as much as he liked being friends with her though. He thought it would be weird if he were to get together with Boyd and having slept with her. Not that he was interested. Ever since coming online, it was as if he had lost interest in the smells and sound and taste of another human being except for his Guide who had smelled right like home in a way. Weird genetics.

“What’s going on, Arlo, you keep checking your watch.” Raylan added and turned away to the bathroom for a second. When he came back outside, he had heard his father pulling a gun so he wasn’t all that surprised. Add that there were two men outside.

“When are they coming?” Raylan played along. No sense in outing himself as a Sentinel to his father. The reflexes he would need would be his advantage now.

“They’re waiting outside,” the older man said: “How long you known?”

Raylan kept from laughing sarcastically: “Well, Arlo, in truth I think I’ve always known.”

“This isn’t something I wanted to do, son.”

“Don’t call me that,” Raylan replied angrily: “What’s the plan?”

“For me to shoot you in the leg.” Arlo replied: “Bo wants to take you alive.”

Raylan didn’t give his father a chance to shoot him first and simply fired at the old man’s leg, causing the injury. The goons outside moved and Raylan hid in the bathroom. They burst in, looking for him and Raylan took the chance, shooting them both.

He smelled the blood then and grimaced, taking his phone out and calling it in.

About after he closed the phone, he heard Boyd approaching in his truck, smelling of blood, Raylan really tried not to go feral that instant, mud, leaves and dirt. 

“What in God’s name, Raylan?” Boyd asked, surprised and swiftly stepping over the dead bodies littering his door.

“Your daddy sent them after me,” Raylan explained easily and fixed his father with a stare: “What are you doing here?”

“My daddy, he killed my men, Raylan. He killed all of them,” Boyd said quietly and damn it to hell, losing friends for a Guide was usually enough to break them mentally. The mental connection Boyd would have formed with them was stabilizing him, them being killed was probably hell on him. 

Typically Bo to cause the most damage ever imaginable. Damaging his son, an online Guide this way could result in them committing suicide. Raylan had been to Boyd’s camp, counted the whole thirty heartbeats, yes, including the one hiding, and knew what a mental imprint they had left on Boyd.

Thirty men. Bo would not live to see another day, Raylan promised himself. Trying to kill his Guide was beyond the pale, worse than killing your son or a fellow Guide. How Bo could even stand the pain Boyd had to have been throwing off was beyond Raylan.

Except, if Bo didn’t have the empathic ability Raylan had. Fuck, that would mean Bo wasn’t really an Alpha but for a lack of a real Alpha had played Alpha.

Raylan hadn’t been in a state to assess the man the last time he had seen him and hadn’t thought to question his position. Now though, that would make a lot of sense.

Reaching out to touch Boyd, Raylan gave him support, mentally and physically. They both ignored the snort from Arlo. He would never understand.

“What happened to Arlo?” Boyd noticed then, focusing on Raylan’s emotional turmoil.

“He took a bullet,” Raylan replied evenly. Boyd grinned then and touched his forehead to Raylan’s: “My Sentinel.”

“My Guide,” Raylan replied and felt the beginnings of their bond settle over them. The night would be long and that little bit of a fledging bond would stabilize them enough.

“Oh shit,” Arlo commented from the bed.

The phone ringing brought them out of their dazed state. Raylan frowned at the display: “Ava?”

“Marshal,” Bo’s voice filtered through the phone: “I figured either one of my guys would answer the call or you would. Seeing as you’re still alive, I guess I can figure out what happened to Arlo.”

Raylan’s eyes met Boyd’s and he mouthed Bo at his Guide. Boyd stepped closer so he could also hear what was being said. Raylan’s frown deepened: “You’re on Ava’s phone.”

“Yeah, you get the picture,” Boyd tensed next to Raylan and Bo continued: “I’d let you say hi to her, but she’s in the trunk.”

Raylan confirmed with his senses, a thudding on the trunk and Ava calling out in the background. He nodded at Boyd: “So what happens now?”

Getting the details was easy enough and Boyd nodded at him, knowing where Bulletville was. Coming alone was a given, seeing that Raylan would only bring Boyd because no way was either one of them leaving the other behind.

Arlo was moving but Raylan shot him a look and Arlo laid back down on the bed, the local police and EMT service arriving then. Raylan flipped his badge: “That man tried to kill me with those two. Bring them into the Marshal office.”

Boyd grinned at him and they marched out, ignoring the yells of the cops to wait.

Speeding down to Harlan was pretty tough, considering they wanted to make enough time to be there to sneak in and surprise them. Thank God for Raylan’s government car, they would be arriving before sunrise.

“How can you stand being close to me and not imprinting your senses on me?” Boyd asked quietly.

Raylan winced and his hands turned white around the steering wheel: “We already did a partial bond. I know you by sight, smell, touch and sound. Not as well as I would like but there is nothing I could do about it.”

“My mind and shields are screaming at me for ignoring you,” Boyd admitted: “I don’t think we can be separated for much longer.”

“We’re not separated now. Not really.” Raylan replied and simply refused to let some bond and genetics dictate when and where and how he was to bond with Boyd. Yes it was rather unusual for a pair to not bond on first sight, not even a little.

Then again their first sight had been as kids.

*

“Are we talkin about how to do this before we get there?” Boyd asked when they got closer to Bulletsville.

“I’ll approach them straight upfront,” Raylan shrugged simply: “I’ll know wherever you are.”

“What about me?”

“You make your way around back. If you can get Ava out, do it,” Raylan ordered. He wouldn’t risk his Guide or his close friend to get killed in this whole mess inspired by Banks’ people that wanted him dead as part of a deal with Bo and the lost shipment.

“Well, I’m gonna need a gun, Raylan.”

Raylan nodded and handed Boyd a gun. They were in walking distance to the cabin and getting out of the car to approach more silently was important: “I hear Ava’s heartbeat somewhere in the back. Someone is with her. Then we have four guys up front.”

“Good. Raylan, be careful.”

“You just don’t die out there, Boyd,” Raylan replied and wanted to reach out, touch Boyd but he was afraid it wasn’t welcome. Besides, they had a girl to rescue.

Apparently Bo thought Ava and his friendship was more than that and that she was the perfect leverage. If only he had known…

“Mr Crowder,” Raylan said once he had approached the house and was recognized.

“Raylan,” Bo replied and two men stepped closer to Raylan for his guns. They took them inside and Raylan grimaced. Losing a service weapon was a shitload of paper to fill out.

If Raylan had a penny for every time some criminal made small talk. Raylan really started to hate those bits. He wanted to be inside like yesterday. 

Thankfully, Boyd had reached Ava and was untying her. He knew Boyd had something planned when he stepped up into plain view: “Raylan, I’m gonna need you to step away from my father.”

Sensing Boyd’s mood, Raylan shook his head a bit: “Boyd, you don’t want do that.”

“Not something I want to do, something I have to.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Bo asked pissed: “Came to rescue me?”

“No, daddy, I didn’t.” Boyd’s gun never wavered while it was trained on Bo.

“You gonna shoot me, Son? I had a chance to kill you and I didn’t.” Bo argued back.

“There’s more than one way to kill a man. You can kill his spirit.”

“Don’t talk such a bullshit, Boyd.”

“I’m an Alpha level Guide, daddy. I was mentally connected to all those men you had killed.” Boyd replied evenly: “How you, as an Alpha Sentinel failed to notice I am a Guide, I do not know.”

“Bullshit. No son of mine is a Guide. We’re a Sentinel family,” Bo denied but more couldn’t be said because Raylan’s head snapped around: “Boyd watch out!” he called just as Bo registered someone in the trees as well and a shot rang out. More followed.

They barely made it inside, Raylan and Boyd, ducking behind the pillars of the porch and heading inside, grabbing Raylan’s and Bo’s thugs’ guns: “Raylan, who’s out there?”

“The way they talk and smell, I’d guess they’re Miami gun thugs, I suspect.”

Boyd took the answer in: “What do they want?”

“Me.”

“I shot their truck. Sure they ain’t coming for me?”

“I’m sure.” Raylan replied evenly, focusing on Ava cowering close by.

“You thinking about giving yourself up to save us?”

“Well, considering they’re talking about killing all of us, I don’t think that’s a wise idea.” Raylan responded: “Besides, you’re my Guide. I wouldn’t ever leave you behind defenseless.”

“How many do you figure are out there?” Ava asked.

Raylan paused and expanded his senses. Boyd’s hand on his skin helped him focus faster and in a larger area: “Seven surrounding the cabin, two in a car up front, two in the trees.”

“Is my daddy moving?” Boyd whispered.

Raylan shook his head: “No heartbeat. I’m sorry.”

Raylan concentrated for a moment and ordered Ava into position to distract the goons while Raylan went up on another window and took a shot: “One less heartbeat.”

It continued in a manner until four up front were left. They were silent for a while when Boyd took a moment to look around: “Where’s Johnny?”

Ava looked sour for a moment: “Bo shot him. A gut shot.”

Boyd winced and seemed to pick something from her emotions: “It’s ok Ava, I don’t blame you.”

Raylan started bargaining through the closed cabin door then, hoping the four remaining guys – and a woman, would just up and leave.

“You didn’t happen to bring your rocket launcher, did you?” Raylan asked with fond amusement. He knew how tense both Boyd and Ava were and it was wrecking with his senses.

“I didn’t think to pack one, Sentinel,” Boyd replied and Ava’s shocked gaze told them she hadn’t known about Boyd.

“All we want is Raylan Givens!” the yell came through the door and Raylan winced a bit.

“I’m Raylan Givens!” Raylan called out.

“No I’m Raylan Givens!” Boyd yelled and got into a staring match with the other man. Ava rolled her eyes at them: “I’m Raylan Givens!”

“Are you trying to be funny?” Raylan glared at her now.

“A little,” she smiled back, a bit of the fright gone from her eyes.

Thinking it all over, Raylan sighed: “We could wait until it’s dark and I make my way through the woods and kill them.”

“We’re not letting you leave alone.” Boyd replied and Ava nodded in agreement.

“Well, what else can we do? They plan on shooting me in the guts and dragging me to Gio.” Raylan replied: “I can hear them talking plans.”

“Go out front, I’ll sneak behind their backs,” Boyd offered: “They won’t notice and there aren’t any more men out here that you can hear, right?”

“Ava will run and call my boss,” Raylan agreed and already rolling with the plan: “I’m still faster at drawing and shooting if I have to.”

Raylan then yelled: “How about I come out unarmed and you come out unarmed and we talk?”

The okay he got was only slightly better than the whispered: “The second he clears, you shoot him in the gut.”

Raylan holstered his gun, stepping out a little sideways to give a smaller target and to hide the holstered weapon.

The shootout was fast and over in seconds. The gun was in his hands, a blood stain already on the guy that took a shot at Boyd and Raylan was already turning towards the woman.

Sadly, she had apparently more brains than guts and took off. Raylan actually thought that was a smart decision until Boyd was in front of him, a gun trained on him: “I’ll go after her.”

It was that moment that Raylan smelled the blood on Boyd, the sharp smell of him having been hit.

“You’re hurt!” he growled angrily: “That bitch shot you!”

“That’s why I’ll go after her,” Boyd replied angrily: “I may be a Guide but I’m also from Harlan.”

“Not without me, you won’t.” Raylan relaxed, knowing Boyd only wanted to get his point across than actually ever considering shooting him.

“No, not without you but before the police arrives,” Boyd agreed and went back into the cabin, returning with more ammunition and pausing by his fathers corpse briefly to close the man’s eyes and shake his head: “He was no Alpha.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Raylan agreed simply, turning away from Boyd for a second.

It was all it took for his Guide to knock him down.

*

Boyd was itching to shoot the woman. Raylan could tell Boyd wanted revenge for his father’s death and though he himself had wanted to kill the old man, Raylan got the whole point.

He followed Boyd stealthily, easy with his senses. He needed to thank Ava for waking him up or Boyd would have more of a headstart. Oh that woman wasn’t going to live. Not after having shot Boyd.

Making it to the airfield, jet waiting, Raylan walked up to Boyd and the woman on the ground: “Boyd,”

“How long have you been following me?” Boyd asked, gun still on her.

“What do you think,” Raylan replied angrily and hundred points for wearing a hat in this kind of rain, it kept his eyes dry and alert: “I’ll take it from here.”

“I believe I’ve got it,” Boyd argued back.

“You going to execute her?” Raylan asked and the blood from Boyd’s shoulder with the rain was making him crazy.

“Retribution for killing my daddy.”

“The guy behind the tree got your daddy and I got him. The only thing you could kill her for is shooting you and trust me on that, Guide, I’ll gladly do it for you. She hurt you.” Raylan hissed between his teeth and the anger was barely suppressable. How he had stayed this calm so far was beyond him, he just knew Boyd shooting her would end in a mess of trials and prison and no way could he let Boyd get behind bars. Not after they started a bond.

Raylan noticed the man on the plane as soon as he stepped into sight, Raylan started firing at him, Boyd following suit and getting him because Raylan had to work around Boyd to shoot at the guy.

“Nice shot,” Raylan commented when Boyd took the man down and Boyd turned to him, seeking instinctual approval from his Guide but Raylan used that to punch him in the face, getting the man’s gun and manhandling him towards the tuck driver: “US Marshal, I need you to get my Guide to a hospital.”

“Will do, Alpha,” the driver replied and that instant Raylan realized he was a Sentinel and would follow the command. Boyd rolled his eyes and silently cursed his luck but Raylan had different fish to fry.

His Guide would never be safe as long as the cartel was around to come after him, or them. As soon as Boyd and he were officially registered, and they would be due to Raylan’s work, Boyd would be fair game to them and no way was Raylan endangering Boyd even if his Guide was very well capable of defending his own life. And kick some ass.

*

The plane ride was shorter than he thought it would be and breaking into Gio’s house was easy. Of course he alerted the man to his whereabouts but keeping track of the man was easy. He put the slender and unconscious woman down on the couch and started talking to Gio.

“What do you want?” Gio asked, worriedly stepping to her to check her pulse.

“What I did, the way I killed your man, Tommy Bucks, I understand you feel like you need to come after me. Trouble is, there are people I care about that are getting caught in the crossfire. So this ends right here right now.”

“I don’t care about other people,” Gio replied.

“You should. Everyone else you’ve sent my way is dead. I’m an Alpha Sentinel for a reason and your people entered my territory and tried to kill my pack.”

Gio’s eyes widened at that and Raylan could make out the man was considering his options more so than he had before.

“I’ll give you ten seconds before I shoot you in the head,” Raylan said, calmly. Apparently feral wasn’t his thing really or he’d have shot Gio’s niece long ago.

The phone ringing, Dan walking in and ordering out of the house was enough for Raylan to consider him shooting the man that had caused him trouble. 

Dan’s threat of killing Gio himself if he ever came after Raylan again was honest. It seeped through Raylan’s bones that Dan was a good Marshal even if he had trouble with Raylan.

“Art called you?” Raylan asked quietly and as a thank you for keeping him from another bout of internal affairs and hearings. Not that it wouldn’t have been short lived due to his Guide being hurt by the niece and him “negotiating” with Gio counted as pack business.

Not that Raylan had much of a pack. Rachel, Tim, Art, Aba, Winona and Boyd. And all except his Guide were mundanes. Way to go.

“Yeah, you want to stay?” Grand said and Raylan took a moment to process his question because no way would he want to leave Harlan now that he had a Guide there. He doubted Boyd would want to leave Kentucky.

“I didn’t think you missed me,” Raylan was visibly amused.

“Well, you know, I had a wart once, when I was a kid.” Dan started. Raylan interrupted because it was obvious where this was going: “Right. And when it was gone, you missed it? “

“Yeah.”

“Wait. Hold up.” Raylan got to think this was strange and the way Dan talked and held himself, something was off: “Is this your idea, or did Art suggest this?”

“Suggest what?” the heartbeat skipped and raced.

“Shit. He did.” Raylan winced: “You can’t lie to a Sentinel, you know.”

“I owe him one.” Grand explained hurriedly: “He took you off my hands, didn't he?”

Getting pissed, Raylan replied rather shortly: “Dan, I went to Kentucky. I did my job, and, as far as I'm concerned, I did it well.”

“What's your point?” Dan asked irritated by Raylan’s behavior.

“My point is, this trouble I'm in is bullshit.” Raylan wondered again why they kept trying to make it his fault he shot so many people when they should know he’s a Sentinel now and protecting his territory changed him.

“I don't understand.”

“I don't know why they give us guns.” Raylan muttered.

Still confused about Raylan’s words, Dan defended his argument: “Raylan I'm trying to offer you your old job back. I thought that's what you wanted.”

“Art just couldn’t deal with the fact that my Guide is waiting in Harlan and sadly enough, is a criminal that actually shot a few of Gio’s men today. Right now, I just want to go home and see my Guide.”

“Really? Well, shit. No wonder Art called me and asked for that favor,” Dan grimaced: “Your Guide can get a place here as well.”

Raylan laughed loudly at that and turned to leave.

*

As soon as Raylan entered the hospital, he smelled two Crowders. Looked like Johnny was here as well.

Then Arlo’s scent hit him and Raylan grimaced. Ava’s perfume registered next and he briefly wondered if his whole pack was here.

First, Raylan used his badge to go see Johnny. The man was Boyd’s only and last remaining family member and it was hard to ignore such a connection to his Sentinel senses. Johnny was lying in a bed, out cold and hooked up to machines. Raylan’s look on the wounds was brief but he knew enough that the man might live but could very well never have the mobility he had before.

Passing by Arlo’s room and getting a frown from the nurse that walked him around, he stopped at Ava’s. She was in for shock and her bruises the men had caused her. She smiled brightly at him: “Hey Raylan.”

“Hey Ava. You doin’ ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here instead of being at Boyd’s?”

“Boyd was shot after we went outside,” Raylan explained briefly. She winced in sympathy: “I’ll look in on him tomorrow then.”

Raylan nodded at her and finally arrived at Boyd’s room. The nurse looked at him seriously: “I’m sorry Marshal but he’s still out. You should come back another time.”

“Bullshit. He’s my Guide,” Raylan replied and entered without the nurse being able to get another word in. Yeah, it may seem strange to the locals that knew the rumors about the Crowders being together with a Marshal but Raylan didn’t give anything about that.

The most important thing was Boyd now. His heartbeat was steady but with a faint increase that told Raylan he would wake up soon. The wound was wrapped in fresh gauze but Raylan’s fingers itched to remove the bandage, see the damage it had done to his Guide’s skin. It was becoming more and more hard not to touch Boyd there. Holding his hand was only satisfying him a little bit but even Boyd’s smell was different due to the drugs and hospital smells.

“Sentinel Givens?” a doctor asked quietly to get his attention before stepping into the room: “The nurse told me right away you are his Sentinel,” he explained and went over to Boyd’s bed: “I’m going to touch your Guide to remove the bandage, okay?”

Raylan only nodded. He was slightly surprised that this man knew what he was doing because he obviously knew how to treat a Guide in the presence of their Sentinel. It was rare meeting anyone that had enough training with Sentinel and Guides since the population here was so few.

The bandage came off Boyd’s chest and Raylan was already close, his fingers about to make contact with the wound when the doctor caught his hand and pressed disinfection gel into his hands. After that he nodded at him and Raylan carefully touched the area where the bullet had hit. 

He knew Boyd was under enough not to register his fingers mapping out the hole in his skin and he was glad for it. Placing a hand over Boyd’s heart calmed him down, relaxed tense muscles he didn’t even knew he had tensed in anticipation.

“Your Guide will wake up soon. I see here that he has been shot before and since this is a small wound with no severe amount of blood loss, we could release him in three hours if you prefer to take him home with you.”

“We don’t share a place yet,” Raylan admitted then: “My place is a crime scene,”

“Did you fully bond yet?” the doctor asked: “I see you have a partial bond at least.”

Raylan shook his head: “No,” and it hurt admitting it: “His father was killed today, my father wanted to kill me today and I shot him instead. A friend everyone thought was my love interest was kidnapped and I just come back from Miami trying to chase the guys doing this to my Guide.”

“Damn, sounds like a fucked up day,” the doctor agreed: “We have a Sentinel and Guide room here, mostly for zones but if you wish you can take your Guide there and nest.”

“I’ll ask my Guide in a few minutes. He’s waking up,” Raylan reported and pressed Boyd’s hand and got a squeeze in return. Boyd’s eyes blinked open next and he dopily smiled at him: “We need to stop meeting like this, Raylan.”

“This time it wasn’t me that shot you.”

“I gave you no choice. Not then, not now,” Boyd nodded: “Did you get them?”

“My old boss dealt with him. Told him he would kill him on sight if he came after me again. I told him I’m and Alpha and he should thing twice about trying to kill me or anyone I care about.”

The doctor cleared his throat softly then: “Mr Crowder, your shoulder will be fine in three weeks and physiotherapy will be about another three weeks if you don’t jar it.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Furthermore, I have a Johnny Crowder in my care?” the doctor asked and Boyd nodded: “My cousin.”

“He’d been shot and we removed his gall bladder which was damaged but luckily, you don’t need that to survive. He will have a longer recovery ahead but he ain’t dead.”

“Thank you, that are good news.” Boyd nodded and looked at his shoulder: “When can I get out of here?”

“Ask your Sentinel. I’ll be at the nurse station. Come and get me when you have decided.” With that the doctor took his leave and Boyd looked at Raylan: “Well, Sentinel.”

“The Doc told me they had a room for us if we need it. My place sure looks like a crime scene and your house is a part of the investigation…” Raylan started and knew there was no more delaying the whole bonding thing.

“I’m not too sure I could walk out the door right now,” Boyd admitted: “And I think we need to get a place for us to stay at.”

“Yeah, I know.” Raylan replied and finally, finally pressed a kiss to Boyd’s lips.

*

A few hours later, Boyd and Raylan were settled in the only Sentinel and Guide room at the hospital. Raylan had started to wash Boyd down carefully, imprinting each bit of skin and each scar to memory this way.

Boyd was thankfully patient enough to let Raylan have his way for a long time: “Raylan, don’t you think I smell of me now?”

“Just about,” Raylan admitted and he himself had had a shower earlier. He laid down next to Boyd on the bed and wrapped his arms around his Guide, careful not to touch or move Boyd’s shoulder in the wrong way. 

“What do you need from me?” Boyd asked. He was nervous, the telepathic feedback loop he had with Raylan showed him he wasn’t the only one. This whole setting was awkward for them, neither having ever been with another man and though the bond urged them to completely and fully bond, it was not enough to make it not uncomfortable.

Raylan sighed into Boyd’s neck, tracing the outline of the fading air brush tattoo Boyd had still going for appearances sake but thankfully it was nearly gone to the normal eye. Raylan would scrub the skin if it wasn’t for the arm being the same shoulder Boyd had injured: “Just resting here with you for now.”

The tiredness finally settled in. Going on a full day of adrenaline and running around was enough to make them tired and sleepy. The first time since Raylan came to Kentucky again, he could sleep restfully, manage his senses and be content in the smell of his Guide. 

Tomorrow was still good enough to start a full bonding. They would deal with it and with the sex that definitely came with it as well.

Fin


End file.
